Racing plate and method of making the same



Feb. 27, 1951 c. J. NARDON RACING PLATE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 15, 1946 INVENTOR. (2W1. J. A/aeaaM mdM W Feb. 27, 1951 c. .J. NARDON 2,543,330

RACING PLATE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed May 13, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fill INVENTOR. CHRL J NHEDOr/ I? .15 BY Patented Feb. 27, 1951 RACING PLATE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Carl J. Nardon, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application May 13, 1946, Serial No. 669,385

8 Claims.

This invention relates to horse shoes and particularly pertains to a racing plate and a method of making the same.

It is common practice to equip racing horses with shoes of very light weight known as racing plates. These racing plates have been made of light weight metals or alloys, such as aluminum, for example. The objection to a plate made of this type of material is that the calks wear rapidly. It is necessary, therefore, to attach calks to the plate which are made of hard and strong metal. Heretoiore, these calks have been attached by having a portion inserted into the toe and heel sections of the racing plate. These have been objectionable in some instances due to the fact that they may work loose or become separated from the main body of the plate. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a racing plate which is made of light-weight material and to which toe and heel calks may be attached in a manner to insure that they will not become readily separated from the main body of the racing plate under any normal circumstance.

It is the principal object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a racing plate and a method of making the same which will insure that the weight of the plate willbe reduced to a minimum and that the toe and heel calks therefore, will be attached in a manner to give the shoe maximum strength and wear and at the same time allow the shoe to be readily adapted to the contour of the foot of the horse, said shoe being formed by a simple and inexpensive method of manufacture.

The present invention contemplates the production of a racing plate from bar stock material in a simple coining operation and whereby hard metal calks may be permanently associated with said coined racing plate in a manner to impress the body of the plate Without impairing its strength.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing a finished racing plate of the type and construction with which the present invention is concerned.

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective showing the bar stock material after it has been given its initial bend to conform to the shape of a conventional horse-shoe and after its ends have been upset to form a base for the heel calks.

3 is a view in perspective showing the toe calk shell.

Figure 3a is a side elevational view of a toe calk cover or shell, a line of bend being indicated in dotted lines.

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective showing the details of the heel calk shell.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in perspective showing a fragmentary portion of the bar stock as indicated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view in perspective showing the upset end of the heel of the racing plate and with the heel calk shell disposed in its initial position.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view in transverse section taken through the structure as shown in Fig. 5, but indicating it as in reverse position and within a forming die where it is set in its initial positon around bar stock material and is clinched into place.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view in transverse section through the coining die and indicates the final operation of placing the toe calk shell upon the bar stock and in coining the bar stock to produce the finished racing plate.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view in transverse section showing the final die operation for the heel calk shell.

Fig. 1G is a fragmentary view in elevation showing the bottom face of the finished racing plate and the shell applied thereto.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the top face of the toe of the-racing plate and indicating the manner in which the shell conforms thereto.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view in elevation showing the fragmentary portion of the racing shoe and indicating particularly the heel calk shell in its final position as viewed from its bottom face.

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 12 showing the opposite edge of a fragmentary portion of .the

shoe and the manner in which the heel calk shell is clinched into position.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, Ii! indicates a length of round stock material which is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing as being bent in the form of a horse-shoe. This round stock material is ductile in character and of light weight, such, for example, as aluminum. The round stock material is upset at its end as indicated at H to produce the foundation structure of heel calks. It is intended that the blank racing plate, as generally indicated in Fig. 2, shall be fitted with a toe calk shell i2 and heel calk shells 13 after which the entire shoe is pressed into final shape in a direct coining action. The toe calk field l5 defined on one side by an edge l6 and bound on its opposite side by the dotted line H. Slightly inclined edge faces l8 and I9 extend along the opposite edges of the field l5. Upon the opposite side of the dotted line H is a field 20 which is defined by an outer curved edge 2| interrupted by a V-shaped notch 22 intermediate the length of the edge. The opposite edges 'of the field 28 are tapered as indicated at 23 and 24. Notc'hes 24' occur at the juncture of the edges l8 and 23 and edges l9 and 24 of the two fields l5 and 20. The blank I4 is then acted upon .in afl'ormingdie to produce the toe calk shell as indicated in detail in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Here it will be seen that the blank has been folded upon itself substantially along the dotted line i"! and the material has been pressed together so that thefield 5 forms the front wall or face of the toe calk and the field 20 forms the back wall. For a distance upon opposite sides of the folding line H the front and back fields I5 and'Mare shaped to form a relatively narrow V-s'haped groove and a calk blade 25 which is arcuate when cons dered longitudinally and which has opposite side walls disposed in a slightly divergent angular relation to each other at the ed e of the blade portion 25 which occurs intermediate the width of the front field l5. This field is bent upwardly as indicated at 25 and then at an angle to the front face of the calk blade '25 as indicated at 21. At the rear inner ed e of the blade '25, as indicated by the l ne 2R the inn r fie d bends outwa dlv at an ap rec able an le to the urface of the blade to form t e portion 29. This terminates in a downturned annular flange so which is interrupted midway its len th by the notch 22. The shell 12 thus formed is clinched around the blank it in. the manner shown in Figs. 5 and 7 of the draw- It will be seen by reference to Fig. 7 that a lower d e 3| is pro ided havin a cavity defining a V- haped trou h 32 at it bottom and continuin in u per arcuate faces 33 and 3A to engage the fie ds l5 and and to bend them around the cyl ndr cal surface of the blank and along an arc ate len th t ereof. A complementary foldin d e 5 i formed with a the cavity 3E which is suhstantiallv semi-circular in cro s-section and arcuate in length. This act to clinch the free ed e of the front and b ck fields of the blank I4 around the ack face of the shoe blank 10. The toe calk shell I 2 will then a sume the position on the bar stock blank ID as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

T e heel calks l3 are then placed in their preliminary posit ons over the lugs ll. As shown "in Fig. the heel calk shells comprise a center hollow structure 31 which is formed in a 'set of extru ion dies and at the oppo te sides of which tan s R8 occur. The heel calk shell I3 is then applied to the calk lugs l in a manner indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawing. The racing plate is then ready for its .final formation in one direct coining operation. The coining die is formed with an upper section as and a lower section 40 a shown in Fi 8 of the drawing. The cavity in the die section so agrees with the configuration of the finished racing plate "and includes the portion shown in Fig. 8 as well as portions not shown by which the racing plate is shaped as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Here it will be seen that a continuous flat top face 4| is provided and that the bottom face of the racing plate forming the tread of the shoe is formed with the usual nail groove 42, with perforations 43 through which nails may pass. As the coining operation takes place the metal H), which was originally round bar stock, is forced to fill the toe calk shell I2 a indicated in Fig. 8 and the hollow calk shells |3 as indicated in Fig. 9. Thus, the portion 21 of the toe calk shell will fold over and become embedded in the top face 4| of the racing plate. This is also true of the portion 30 of the toe calk. The tangs 33 of the heel calk shells I3 will fold over and be embedded within the top face 4| of the racing plate.

An "enlarged fragmentary view of the bottom face of the toe calk in its final form is shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings and an enlarged fragmentary view of the top face of the racing plate and the toe calk shell is shown in Fig. 11 of the drawing.

Here it will be seen that the notch 22 will occur along the transverse center line of the racing plate and in both the top and bottom faces 'of the plate when in finally pressed form.

This provides a weakened portion at the center of the toe calk shell 12 which makes it possible for the shoe to be opened up or closed to conform to the hoof contour-of different horses. This eliminates the necessity of making a number of sizes "of shoes as would be the case if the toe calk shell l2 were rigid and unbendable.

It will thus be seen that by the method here shown "it possible to produce a strong, durable, light-weight racing plate which may be easily adapted for hoo'fs of various sizes and contour. It will also be noted that'the manufacturing operation is rapid and efficient and that the shoe is novel in design and is made by a new and commercially desirable method.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire by Letters Patent is:

1. Ametho'd of producing a racing plate which consists in shaping a length of round bar stock of ductile metal to conform to the contour of a hoof and produce a shoe blank, forming a hollow she'll-like toe calk of re atively hard metal, said toe calk being substantially V-shaped in cross-section and being arcuate longitudinally, then placing said toe calk shell and said shoe blank within coining molds and thereafter exerting pressure on the same whereby the shelllike calk will be clinched around the shoe blank, and the shoe blank will be shaped to conform to the configuration of a conventional shoe while completely filling the cavi'ty'within'the calk.

2. A method of making a racing "plate which consists in cutting a piece of round bar ductile metal representing the developed length of a horse-shoe, thereafter shaping the same to conform to the contour of a horses hoof, then upsetting one end of said material to form the foundation for a heel calk, then pressing a heel calk shell from relatively hard sheet material, said shell being designed to fit over the upset portion of the piece of material and having tangs to fold therearound, then pressing a toe calk shell from relatively hard sheet material, the sheet of material being folded upon itself to be substantially 'Vshape in cross-section and bein arcu'a'tely curved to conform to the contour of the bar, thereafter fitting the heel and toe calks on the bar and clinching them therearound, thenplacing the bar with its associated calks between coining dies and pressing the same to give the racing shoe its final shape and to force the metal into the calks while clinching the calks thereon.

3. The method of making a racing plate horseshoe which comprises forming a body blank of light ductile metal, of forming a thin hollow calkshaped shell of wear-resistant metal, and of subjecting the blank with the calk-Shaped shell applied thereto to sufficient pressure within a mold having a shoe forming cavity adapted to receive the calk-shaped shell therein to force the ductile metal of the blank into the hollow shell and to embed a marginal edge of the shell flush with the body portion, thereby to form a horseshoe with a calk of ductile metal covered with a thin shell of wear-resistant metal.

4. The method of making a racing plate horseshoe Which comprises forming a, body blank of light ductile metal, of forming a thin-Walled, hollow concave-convex calk-shaped shell of wear-resistant metal, of placing the body blank with the shell placed with its concavity shaped shell toward the body portion in a mold having a cavity therein to receive the calk-shaped shell therein, and of subjecting the blank with the calk-shaped shell thus applied thereto to sufiicient pressure within the mold to deform the ductile metal of the blank, forcing a portion thereof into the hollow shell completely to fill the shell and to embed the marginal edges of the shell flush with the body portion, thereby to form a horseshoe with a calk of ductile body metal covered with a thin shell of Wear-resistant metal.

5. The method set forth in claim 4 wherein the shell is notched on one marginal edge thereof substantially midway of its length to facilitate bending of the horseshoe on completion thereof.

6. The method of making a racing plate horseshoe which comprises forming a horseshoe body blank with an excess of light ductile metal, of covering a calk forming area of the body blank with a calk-shaped hollow shell of thin, wearresistant metal having an open side disposed toward the body blank and of subjecting the thus assembled blank and shell to suflicient pressure in a mold to form the horeshoe body and to force body metal into the hollow shell, filling it.

7. The method of making a racing plate horseshoe which comprises forming a horseshoe body blank with an excess of light ductile metal, of

covering a calk forming area of the body blank with a calk-shaped hollow shell of thin, wearresistant metal having an open side and a marginally extending portion and of subjecting the thus assembled blank and shell to sufficient pressure in a mold to form the horseshoe body and to force body metal into the hollow shell, filling it, and of embedding the marginally extending portion of the shell in the body metal thereby securing the shell against removal from the body portion.

8. The method of making a racing plate horseshoe which comprises forming a horseshoe body blank with an excess of light ductile metal, of covering a calk forming area of the body blank with a partially formed calk-shaped hollow shell of thin, wear-resistant metal having an open side with the open side toward the blank, of subjecting the thus assembled blank and shell to sufficient pressure in a mold to form the horseshoe body thereby forcing body metal into the hollow shell, filling it, and performing a final forming operation on the shell.

CARL J. NARDON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 233,111 Bryden Dec. 30, 1879 487,645 Sageng Dec. 6, 1892 507,272 Jerome Oct. 24, 1893 514,753 Jerome Feb. 13, 1894 530,644 Kent Dec. 11, 1894 599,350 Olson Feb. 22, 1898 610,212 Whitaker Sept. 6, 1898 613,991 Harding Nov. 8, 1898 869,962 Distler Nov. 5, 1907 1,129,679 Hoover Feb. 23, 1915 1,134,074 Courlaender Mar. 30, 1915 1,245,101 Henderson Oct. 30, 1917 1,453,899 Yensen May 1, 1923 2,041,825 Gardner May 26, 1936 2,197,166 Wheeler et al Apr. 16, 1940 

